The Hunter and The Wolf
by paper jam
Summary: A hunter came upon a pack of injured wolves. So he brought them to a friend to nurse them back to health. As they were done healing the wolves, he realized that something was terribly amiss, when one of the wolves stole his precious first kiss. [AU]
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Card Captor Sakura. Story, characters and such are solely owned by the wonderful, talented and beautiful women of CLAMP, namely Tsubaki Nekoi, Ageha Ohkawa, Satsuki Igarashi, and Mokona. I love them so. The CCS manga series in Japan was published by Kodansha.

**The Hunter and The Wolf**

By: Ya-kun 

**Summary: **Once upon a time, there was a hunter who came upon a pack of injured wolves. With the humanity he possessed, he brought them to a friend to nurse them back to health. As the hunter and his friend were done healing the wolves, he realized that something was terribly, terribly amiss, when one of the wolves stole his precious first kiss.

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

The cloaked man trudged through the cold terrain, snow that piled up in the past few days preventing full mobility. 'The snowstorm has finally cleared up', he thought with relief. The man shrugged, letting the snow that had gathered on his cloak fall off, before tightening his hold on it with his glove-covered hand. He looked up to the bleak sky, vaguely making out the glowing full moon with his rapidly weakening eyesight. If it was because of his lack of sleep or just the damn freaking fact that he had walked in a snowstorm, he wasn't sure. He grunted in relief when he realized that he was already at the entrance of the cave he recuperated in a few days ago after another successful hunting session. The man was about to step inside his newfound shelter but the strained growls and whimpers coming from deep inside the cave made him stop.

Taking a few tentative steps forward, he bent down guardedly and groped for the lantern he had left on the cave floor. A full minute passed before his fingers traced its familiar outline. He took out a small cardboard box from inside his cloak and slid it open, revealing the few match sticks it contained.

The abrupt heat and light illuminated the cave back to life. He surveyed his surroundings with guarded eyes of brilliant amber. Fully satisfied that he was remotely safe from any danger, the man stood up and continued towards a part of the cave where he was sure the growls and whimpers were coming from. Of course, with him being a hunter—a very good one, at that—he was right. A set of narrowed yellow eyes made him still his movements sometime later. The man set down the lantern on the ground.

It was a gray wolf. The man noted that the wolf's ears were pulled back and his tail was pointing straight out, parallel to the ground. Apparently, it was suspicious of his presence. He then set his eyes on the three other gray wolves lying behind the only awake one. They were all injured. The man wasn't sure if their pack had severe injuries and it was apparent that he didn't actually care that much. He just wanted to rest peacefully before he went back to the village.

He knew he could easily kill them. They were injured for the gods' sakes. And so the hunter decided that he would. Firmly gripping the handle of his sheathed sword, he took a step forward. He was ready to charge in and kill those useless animals. And yes, he would've done just that, but then he noticed that the wolf was now looking at him, very much relaxed. The man retained his stance, just a little bit suspicious why this pack's alpha male didn't and wasn't attacking him.

The wolf howled discreetly while facing his pack, causing them to awaken. The three wolves, noticing the human standing in front of them, immediately took on defensive stances. Their growls were silenced by the slightly louder howl given off by their alpha. The hunter's eyes widened a bit when the leader seemingly invited him to sleep with them with a bark and a glance behind him.

Having no clue of what the heck was going on but knowing that this was possibly the best way out of this predicament, he slowly approached the weary wolves. Plopping down beside them, he was more than a little surprised when the wolves gathered around him and proceeded to rest beside him or on him. He dismissed it quickly, feeling their all-comforting warmth enveloping his whole body.

He slept peacefully that night.

* * *

Two days have passed and they had finally arrived at their destination. He glanced back at the crate that carried the severely injured wolves then glanced down beside him at the least injured wolf. Her tail was wagging about and her tongue lolled out of her mouth. When he learned that this female wolf was the least injured, he knew that whoever or whatever attacked this pack, they were trying their best to protect _this_ wolf from it—given that she was the youngest, he could understand their protectiveness though. She barked, as if asking "Are we there yet?" and her tail wagged even more when the hunter patted her head gruffly.

"Yeah, yeah. Now shut up and help me pull."

The hunter had taken off his cloak to blanket the resting wolves in the crate, leaving him in all his handsome glory. Lucky for him, the population of huntresses was scarce and women running around in a forest even scarcer. If there were any human females a mile radius from him, they would've attacked him because of his utter manliness.

Spotting an oh-so-familiar temple despite the glare of the morning sun, the man let go of his rope and stretched. The wolf beside him stopped as well and glanced up expectantly at what she perceived to be a very kind human. She released the wiry rope from her mouth and her tail wagged happily.

"Oi! Is anybody home?"

Her ears flattened against her head at the human's loud voice while the wolves in the crate stirred. The wolf beside him barked at him like she was reprimanding him for not realizing how sensitive wolves' ears were. The hunter turned to the wolf and raised an eyebrow incredulously. Did that wolf just do what he thought she did?

Joyous laughter made the hunter and the wolf break away from their staring competition. "Well, well! So there actually _is_ someone who would dare tame the almighty Syaoran Li!"

A woman was leaning against the entrance of the temple, arms crossed on her chest, and trying her best not to make a lewd remark about this discovery of hers. Surely, if she hinted that her cousin was into bestiality—which she knew he wasn't—either he'd whipped out those dangerous daggers or unsheathe his sword and kill her without a second thought.

She was beautiful and had long black hair that was tied in a high ponytail though some of her shorter hairs framed her face. It ended just before her derriere and the sun was making her hair _so_ shiny that the wolf had to shield her eyes from the glare with her paw. She was wearing a white flowing dress that reached her knees and red cargo pants that were just like the hunter's. The dress was sleeveless and the design—that didn't look like it originated from Japan—was embroidered in scarlet.

"I didn't know it would be a wolf…" the woman shrugged, "but whatever floats your boat."

'Aw. Damn it.' She was never good with controlling herself.

"I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means."

'Shit.' "Whatever do you mean Ran-chan?"

"I told you to stop calling me that."

"Of course you did."

"Whatever. Just help me get these wolves inside the grounds so we can heal them."

She let out the breath she didn't know she was holding in as she went towards the wolf and gripped the rope as well. 'Well that was close.' She always knew that nickname which Syaoran despised so much could get her out of any trouble with him. Her eyes then caught sight of the wolf's tail wagging incessantly in front of her as they pulled.

'…Wonder what she's so happy about.'

* * *

"And done!" Meiling said happily as she lied down on the ground.

The grounds of the temple were partially occupied by the four healed wolves and two exhausted humans two hours later. It was currently nine in the morning and the latter never knew how tiring it would be to heal a pack of wolves. At first, the people who owned the temple refused to let the wolves stay—even _if_ the cousin of a famous hunter was permanently residing in the temple. They were too dangerous, they had said. It was only after a few friendly compromises—deadly threats—here and there did the temple owners agree. They still didn't want to help them heal the wolves though.

The three severely injured wolves weren't that much of a problem because they only had to deal with carrying them out of the crate and all. They rested again as soon as they got healed. The youngest wolf, the least injured one and the last wolf they bandaged up. Now _she_ was a problem. She frolicked and danced around, holding her tail high and wagging it happily as they chased her around the temple grounds like they were playing a game. Like they were playing a _freaking_ game. Needless to say, it was one _heck_ of a workout.

Meiling followed the movements of the wolf with her eyes. The wolf was bowing; the front of its body was flat against the ground with her rear towards the sky. It was looking at Syaoran playfully who was grumpily looking back. The wolf growled.

"What now?"

Syaoran was currently on his back, his arms bent on either side of his body. He rolled his eyes when she narrowed her golden eyes at him.

"Look, I don't want to play with you so just go bother Meiling or something."

He missed the glare sent his way. The wolf pounced on Syaoran and before he got to say anything, he felt the wolf's lips against his. His eyes bulged out as he stared at the wolf in front of him, her eyes closed and looking too relaxed for his own comfort. He turned his face to the side and spit repetitively on the ground, effectively bringing an end to the kiss.

No. _No. _**No. **This wasn't happening. His first kiss… He saved their pack. He _saved_ them! And this is the thanks he gets? A wet kiss by a freaking wolf! He didn't do anything wrong… did he? Damn it! Why were the gods always on crack when it came to him?

He turned back to the wolf, ready to glare the living daylights out of it. After all, it was still injured. But when she was fully healed… Oh boy. He clamped a hand over his mouth as he opened it and prepared to let out all the curses he knew at the wolf. But then, a bright light emitted from inside the wolf and then the same light enveloped her whole body. The two humans stared incredulously at the slowly diminishing size of the light hovering above Syaoran.

Syaoran closed his eyes when the light became too unbearable for him while Meiling shielded her eyes with her hands. A few moments later, he felt something drop on him and heard Meiling gasp. He opened his eyes hesitantly and focused on the being in front of him.

The naked baby that sat on his chest gurgled happily as she clapped her hands together.

* * *

Well… I never thought that an idea that popped up from just watching your annoying four-year old niece playing a certain educational game which included a jigsaw puzzle on "The Princess and The Frog" on the computer would develop into _this_. Oh well. Read and review!

**Attention:** To all **Minor Detail** readers (if you're still planning on reading it) and to the people who'd like to have an idea of my future story, please visit my live journal account for a special treat. You can find it at the bottom of my profile or visit this link: http (semicolon) (slash) (slash) ya-kun (dot) livejournal (dot) com.


	2. Growth Spurt

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Card Captor Sakura. Story, characters and such are solely owned by the wonderful, talented and beautiful women of CLAMP, namely Tsubaki Nekoi, Ageha Ohkawa, Satsuki Igarashi, and Mokona. I love them so. The CCS manga series in Japan was published by Kodansha.

**The Hunter and The Wolf**  
By: Ya-kun

**Summary: **Once upon a time, there was a hunter who came upon a pack of injured wolves. With the humanity he possessed, he brought them to a friend to nurse them back to health. As the hunter and his friend were done healing the wolves, he realized that something was terribly, terribly amiss, when one of the wolves stole his precious first kiss.

* * *

**CHAPTER I:** Growth Spurt

Syaoran breathed in deeply as he closed his eyes. He rested his head on the ground. That… _thing_ didn't just happen. Yes, nothing was amiss at all. He didn't get his first kiss stolen by a wolf, and by the _gods_, that wolf didn't turn into a butt-naked baby right before his eyes. Yes. Everything was perfectly normal. He slowly lifted his head up, strangely not able to lift up the whole upper portion of his body. It was like something was sitting on him or something… No. Of course not! That can't be… Suddenly, he opened his eyes as a determined look blossomed on his handsome face.

The butt-naked little baby smiled at him—gums and all.

A few moments passed before Syaoran regained consciousness.

Gradually coming to, he glared at the baby on his chest before he flicked her on the forehead… _hard. _She reeled back slightly at the impact, her forehead sporting a quickly purpling bruise. The baby gurgled happily again, as if asking Syaoran to repeat the action.

Syaoran's eyebrows twitched as he closed his eyes once again. "Stupid hallucinations…" he muttered under his breath, bringing his hands to his head. Syaoran gently massaged his temples, mentally noting to ask what the hell Meiling slipped into his breakfast that morning… and made future plans of slipping _lots_ of it into her future meals.

**.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.**

When they both realized that they did not slip anything in each other meals and stopped trying to kill each other, Meiling and Syaoran sat down on the ground, thinking of what to do. The baby was now wearing some of the temple's spare clothing which Meiling had borrowed (stolen) and was currently seated beside Syaoran. Meiling glanced as the baby cutely gripped onto Syaoran's brown cargo pants as she tried to stand up. A few moments passed before she turned back to Syaoran, a smile on her face.

"Let's just throw her away."

If Syaoran was drinking or eating anything, it would've been a disaster. But thankfully, he wasn't doing either of them and thus, he hadn't ended up spurting all of it on Meiling's face. He knew Meiling would kill him if he ever did. Syaoran regarded Meiling with a confused yet angry expression. How could she say that with a _smiling_ face? "What do you mean throw her away?"

She looked at him as if he was talking in another language and was cursing relentlessly. "Syaoran, we're not going to _actually throw_ her away." Meiling regarded him with a sad & sympathetic look. "I know you're not _that _mean."

Syaoran made a sound in the back of his throat as his eye twitched and a vein in his head throbbed. About to show her a piece of his mind, Syaoran paused in the clenching and unclenching of his fists as he watched the baby stand up by herself. Seeing this as well, Meiling gushed before quickly leant over to hug and cradle the baby to her chest with a smile, giggling and whispering about how she was so cute.

He sighed, relieved. There'd be no abandoning little babies tonight.

* * *

The next morning, Syaoran uncharacteristically woke up late. Donning the same outfit as he wore yesterday, he went through his morning routine—this being 30 minutes (or more) of exercising. As soon as he was done, Syaoran stretched as languidly as possible, still feeling a bit drowsy. He slid open the shoji screen door… only to come face to face with a two-year old child. While a part of him was slightly disturbed, he bent down and ruffled her hair, all the while smiling. "Hey there kid. What are you doing in front of my room?"

The two-year old pulled out her right thumb from her mouth to speak while she used her left hand to point at him. "Ran!"

Taken aback at the suddenness of her actions and with her calling him "Ran", Syaoran observed the girl closer. "… Am I related to you in anyway?" He looked at her big, doe-like emerald eyes and her auburn hair and Syaoran knew that either this kid just somehow overheard Meiling calling him that or…

Hearing rushed footsteps coming from around the corner, Syaoran stood up from his crouching position to face a flushed Meiling. She was obviously looking for someone. Syaoran was able to quickly comprehend the situation. He placed his right hand on his disappointed face as he shook his head side to side. "Honestly Meiling, when you have your… impulses, you should really practice safe interc— Hey! What was that for?"

Rubbing the bump on his head, he tossed back her shoe. She _really_ knew how to throw stuff. He watched as Meiling passed him by as she picked up the little girl and scolded her for leaving their room without permission. Syaoran's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to figure out what was going on. Unfortunately, his train of thought was interrupted when Meiling practically shoved the kid in his face.

"Meet the little wolf, Ran-chan."

Paying no heed to the wretched nickname, Syaoran's eyes widened disbelievingly. "… Little wolf?"

* * *

Their suspicions were alarmingly correct. The little girl turned three the day after that, and then the day after she turned four. And when she turned five, they finally got a name. Sakura. Her sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth birthdays passed by just as quickly. When they asked, Sakura said she couldn't remember anything but her name. Her eleventh and twelfth just as well. Then she turned thirteen years old, fourteen years old, fifteen years old, sixteen years old, and seventeen years old in just a blink of their eye. Meiling had said she wished it was that easy for her when she was a teenager before sighing sadly to herself.

Today was technically her eighteenth birthday. Sakura was currently _their_ age. He wasn't so sure just how old she really was, but now she was eighteen, like him and Meiling. As he waited for Meiling and Sakura on the temple grounds—they were heading to town today—, somewhere in the deep, dark recesses of Syaoran's dense mind, he was wondering what to get Sakura for her birthday.

* * *

**A/N:** Bet you didn't expect that, did you? XD …Well, if you said you were expecting it, I'd probably not believe you, anyway. Ahaha. Yes. The CRACK. Thanks for the reviews guys! The plot's still building up so don't be disappointed just yet. Reviews are appreciated because they feed my muse and me XD. (Almost didn't reach a thousand words there. Phew!) 


End file.
